14 Jan Workplace Issues: Is Gender Equality in the Workplace in Fact a Myth?

Gender inequality in the workplace seems to be an everlasting problem that can’t be completely solved, in spite of all the effort. It is not a rare thing to witness or experience some discrimination while at work if you are a woman. In order to achieve equality, there should be no difference in addressing, opportunity to progress, nor in work distribution, benefits and salaries, regardless of whether you are a woman or a man.

Improvement in Recent Years?

Even if gender equality is a sensitive issue mentioned now and then, and even if in the past decades there have been improvements when this issue is concerned, there are still people with prejudice. If you think that this is nonsense and that men and women are treated equally, that both have the same rights and that both are given a chance to achieve their own success, think about this: how come that new statistics and analysis show that women who graduated university and are employed earn up to 2.500 $ less than the men with the same working position and the same education? And these differences in salaries are still present. This is called wage discrimination or the gender pay gap, and these terms are unfortunately developed due to this inequality problem between the sexes in the workplace.

Main Problems

All of this starts with the attitude of the employer. Business people often choose what’s best for their work, and a woman who is likely to be dedicated to her family is not a good choice for a business person who wants to progress. What they might not be aware of is that this will actually impact their business in a completely different way. There is no need for terms such as “glass ceiling” and “pink collar employees” – what is needed at any workplace is equality among sexes – equal salaries for the same amount of work done, equal participation in all activities related to work and strict rules forbidding discrimination of any kind at the workplace. There is also another problem when discrimination at work is concerned and that is a scenario in which the employers are choosing the right person for a certain working position – not only that some of them tend to objectify women and employ them because of all the wrong motives, but others aren’t even going to consider employing women. This is because some people divide occupations into male and female jobs and this is precisely why it is not such a common thing to see a woman employed in a “male-dominated” industry.

Why Is Gender Inequality Bad for the Employer?

There are several reasons why gender inequality can affect the development of your business and these reasons show why one should avoid inequality business-wise, and not because of righteousness or justice. Firstly, it is widely known that women care about education more than men – sorry guys but these are the statistics, and because of that, they are often more experienced and can be equally good if not even better than some male employees. So, as an employer who doesn’t promote equality, you are likely to miss such a good employee. Some recent analysis showed that companies who have an equal number of men and women employees tend to be more successful and better organized due to the perfect mix of all the necessary skills and knowledge.

You, Affected Ones, What Can You Do?

Search for better employers who promote gender equality at work. It is hard to try and influence someone’s opinion, especially if they are your superior. If you are feeling threatened in any way, quit the job. There is no need to stay surrounded by people who are not going to appreciate your efforts. On the other hand, if you were unfortunate enough to experience some harassment or mistreatment, there is no need to cover your employer or work colleagues. According to some previous work from David King, the percent of women who went from being verbally abused to sexually harassed at work is higher in cases where those women kept it all a secret. If you are a professional, no matter the gender, your rights as an employee and your rights as a human being shouldn’t be denied – you have every right to demand them.

People should be aware that these things still happen and only awareness and action against these horrible deeds can make improvement when gender inequality is concerned.

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Alex Filipovic

Alex Filipovic has been in the world of blogging for over 4 years. Her interests lie in the world of Fashion and Health, but in her career, she covered a wide range of topics – from raising awareness about environmental issues to discussing the various advances in informational technology. She strives to keep herself up to date when it comes to all her interests, the list of which is constantly growing.

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